SB 476 
.M3 
Copy 2 



Landscape Engineering 
in the National Forests 



By 

FRANK A. WAUGU 

Collaborator 



1918 



U.S. I lartment of Agriculture 
Fores t Service 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1913 

A J . 






^7L 



n. of ©• 
SEP tS »§18 



\ 



Landscape Engineering 

in the National Forests 



THE school-book definition of landscape gardening (practically 
synonymous with landscape architecture or landscape 
engineering) recites that this is "the art of improving land for 
human use and enjoyment in such a manner as to secure the 
maximum utility combined with the maximum of beauty." It 
is an error to regard the subject as concerned mainly with planting 
trees and shrubs or to imagine its main function to be the supply 
of some "ornamental" (always superficial) disguise for some 
unsightly utility. On the contrary*, it must be recognized as a 
principle fundamental to all art, and to life, that no utility should 
need disguise, and that every kind of artistic treatment, instead 
of being superficial, must be organic — structural. 

Translated into the practical terms of daily life in the National 
Forests, this means that landscape engineering will recognize 
the primary utilities, not as a necessary evil, but as necessarily 
good. Instead of these utilities standing in the way of the 
objects which the landscape engineer wishes to accomplish, they 
become a most acceptable part of his own undertaking. 

Obviously, once this point of view is accepted the landscape 
engineer and the practical forester are working for precisely the 
same thing. Far from being at cross purposes, each trying to 



Landscape Engineering 



bring to pass things which conflict with the objects pursued by 
the other, they are partners in a common enterprise — the har- 
monized, rational development of the National Forests to their 
maximum usefulness, which includes both the use of material 
resources for the supply of economic needs and the enjoyment of 
esthetic advantages. 

The foresters also have a schoolbook definition which is worth 
recalling. It recites that their profession is concerned with the 
art of handling forest lands in such a manner as to serve best the 
purposes of the owner. That purpose is sometimes money 
income; sometimes it is the production of material for some 
particular kind of use; or it may be embellishment of a pleasure 
park. Often several purposes are combined. It is doubtful, 
however, whether it would be possible to find anywhere on the 
earth's siu'face forests of any size where the "purposes of the 
owner" combine so many and so widely varying kinds of utility 
as are found in the case of the National Forests. Basic in the 
plans for managing them has been the conception that they 
should be made to yield every form of use that can be got out 
of them, and the maximum net total of use. Foresters could 
not, if they would, deny that the beauty of the landscape and 
public enjoyment of that beauty are matters which must come 
into their account. That there is no desire to deny it is sufficiently 
evidenced by the important place which the Forest Service is 
giving to the development of recreation resources. These it 
counts as deserving a place with timber, water, and forage. 
The forester and the landscape engineer, therefore, are at one 



in the National Forests 



in their fundamental point of view regarding these pubHc proper- 
ties — or perhaps it were better to say they make a team. 

The landscape engineer must, under the terms of the definition 
of his art already given, include in any plans which he may 
formulate for the National Forests the utilities other than those 
involving the element of beauty which they possess. The forester 
likewise must include in his plans the element of beauty wherever 
its public value is manifest. In other words, both must have 
the same set of objectives. The first step in planning must be 
recognition of the full set, and, if the objectives can not all of 
them be fully realized because they conflict in part, a well-balanced 
decision must be sought as to their relative importance and the 
best method of reconciling them. 

As a specialist, the landscape engineer will make his peculiar 
concern three closely related objectives (though always recog- 
nizing that they can not be pursued without constant consideration 
of the material utilities involved) — viz, (i) to preserve the native 
landscape in all its prestine beauty; (2) to make it physically 
accessible to the largest number of persons; (3) to present its 
beauties in the most logical, intelligible, and convincing manner. 

It should be obvious that all these purposes are entirely com- 
patible with the objectives which economic use of the material 
resources of the Forests sets up. The principal enemy of the 
landscape is fire, which is also the arch enemy of the forest 
regarded as a source of timber and water. One principal means 
of fire protection is found in opening a good system of trails, and 
this contributes directly to the landscape engineer's second 



Landscape Engineering 



objective. A good many persons, considering the matter too 
narrowly, have concluded that lumbering operations, which are 
essential to the practice of forestry, are fatal to landscape beauty, 
and must therefore suffer the stem disapproval of the landscape 
engineer. As a general statement this is false and mischievous. 
There are many ways of adapting timber cutting to esthetic needs. 
Th^ landscape engineer may himself employ cutting in order to 
bring out better natural beauty. While in particular instances 
esthetic considerations might impose an absolute veto on any in- 
terference with the natural conditions, no such universal rule 
should be laid down. 

At the present time the National Forest areas offer some of 
the largest and most fascinating problems ever presented to the 
landscape-engineering profession, whether considered in their 
social aspects or in view of the technical problems involved. 
But any discussion of either of these broad social questions or of 
the fmidamental technical considerations would be quite out of 
place here. For the present it is desired only to give some 
practical suggestions, from the point of view of the landscape 
engineer, for the management of problems which almost daily 
confront the supervisor or ranger in the field. These problems 
are mainly of three kinds, (i) the layout of special-use permit 
areas for summer colonies, (2) the location of trails where serious 
consideration is given to the beauty of surrounding scenery, 
and (3) the location and development of ranger stations. 



in the National Forests 



Summer Camp Areas 



IN EVERY Forest Sen^ice district there now exists a considerable 
demand for sites on which to build permanent summer camps. 
On certain Forests this demand is so eager as to outrun the 
supply. In a few cases the leasing and management of such areas 
has become the principal occupation of the local forest officers. 
Unquestionably the National Forests include much delightful 
wild country particularly adapted to summer camping and to 
other forms of recreation, such as hunting and fishing, which 
naturally go with it. The Forest Service has definitely adopted 
the policy of developing such recreation utilities, and we should 
therefore carefully examine the technical questions involved 
with a view to meeting the practical problems in the most effective 
way. 

The territory usually desired for permanent camps is tree- 
covered, and lies in canyons, along mountain streams, or beside 
mountain lakes. It nearly always presents a decidedly uneven 
topography, insomuch that it is often a serious problem to find 
practicable sites on which to place the camp houses. The terri- 
tory, moreover, is nearly always wild, lying at a considerable 
distance from any city or large town; and this wildness and 
remoteness are generally held to be fundamentally desirable 
c}ualities. 



6 Landscape Engineering 

Under existing conditions many forest supervisors and rangers 
find themselves confronted with the duty of subdividing such 
recreation tracts into lots suitable for the use of permittees. The 
Washington office has issued instructions covering the method of 
making and recording the necessary surveys, but back of the 
survey there lies a problem in landscape engineering which many 
of the field men have found puzzling in the extreme. The sub- 
joined suggestions are offered with the hope of helping the men 
in the field to a clearer understanding of these landscape engineer- 
ing problems and of the means whereby they may be solved. 

Before discussing the subdivision plan it will be advantageous 

to clear the way by deciding upon the size of the 
Size of , , . ; . , 

lots to be assigned for these summer camps. At 
Lots 

present there is a considerable diversity of practice 

and a noteworthy lack of standards in this matter. Some diver- 
sity of practice is certainly desirable, owing to the diversity of 
conditions, but it is desirable at the same time to have a clearer 
ideal (or standard) to which to work. 

The standard of village life in the United States is approximately 
four residences to each acre (represented by lots loo by lOO feet). 
Wherever detached residences are built — that is, everywhere 
except under crowded city conditions — the house lot 50 by 100 
feet is regarded as the minimum. This gives us only eight lots 
to the acre, disregarding streets. If the street area is figiured in, 
this maximum crowding will give only a fraction over six houses 
to each acre. It may be added that the rate of 1 6 families to the 
acre is admitted in modern city planning only for the extremer 



in the National Forests 



forms of crowded industrial housing, employing two and four 
family residences. 

To adopt upon the recreation areas of the National Forests a 
standard of lot subdivision corresponding to the lowest forms 
of factory housing is manifestly absurd. One of the most serious 
and fundamental purposes of recreation in the Forest is to escape 
from these very conditions — to get away from city crowding and to 
give to each person the feeling that for once he has room to 
expand. The entire psychological, social, and economic founda- 
tion for recreation lies here ; and if this foundation is undermined 
we may fairly doubt the advisability of building further. 

In the judgment of the writer one acre ought to be regarded as 
the standard size for the summer-camp permit on the National 
Forests. This will be represented by a lot 200 by 200 feet, or 
150 by 267 feet. 

This standard, however, should be freely departed from. A 
strict uniformity in the size or shape of lots should be regarded 
as particularly undesirable. The one acre standard, however, 
may be held as the ideal and may be approximated in a large 
number of cases. 

Certain of the summer-camp areas are so restricted in size 
and the demand for camp space is so great that substantial con- 
cessions in size of lots may seem justified in order to accommo- 
date a larger number of applicants. In some of these cases the 
mitigating circumstances are so urgent as to overcome all ob- 
jections. It generally happens, furthermore, that the resulting 
lots are not completely surrounded by other little lots. More 
frequently they are open on one side to a river or lake; and per- 
49«28°— 18 2 



10 Landscape Engineering 

haps also on the opposite side are open to the whole hinterland. 
The permittee is by no means confined to his one-half acre or one- 
quarter acre, but has the free use of an unlimited area before and 
behind his leasehold. 

Even under such conditions I would regard one-half acre as 
the minimum lot size; and this amount ought to be assigned to 
each permittee for his protection, even though his lot will include 
some land too rough for practical use. If we have under man- 
agement a particularly popular line of lake shore, for example, 
it might be possible to build double the number of camps by 
halving the size of the lots; but if lots are reduced to 50 feet in 
width and occupied by shacks, the entire lake shore is made 
squalid, and the very attraction which first drew campers thither 
is destroyed. It is important to observe, too, that the crowding 
of campers inevitabl}^ tends to shabbier building. 

In speaking of " shacks " we should regard the spirit rather than 
the letter. It would be perfectly simple to adopt a rule that no 
cottage costing less than $300 or $500 would be permitted. Such 
rules have been widely used outside the Forest Sersdce, and their 
operation is usually commended. Yet there are objections to 
the principle, especially in the case of the National Forests. 
What is desired is to prevent, by rigorous means if necessary, 
the building of disreputable, unsightly structures which disfigure 
the natural landscape surroundings. It is evident that a cheap 
log hut, properly placed, and neatly built, may be more in keeping 
with its forest environment than would a $50,000 Italian villa. 
This might be called a matter of taste ; it is in fact merely a matter 
of common sense. No reasonable man need misunderstand. 



in the National Forests 1 1 

There is, however, a still deeper, greater, and commoner danger 
in the crowding of houses on small areas within the Forests. Any- 
one who observes actual developments, for example at lakeside 
resorts generally, will be struck with the obvious fact that a certain 
number of the "campers" are attracted by the social delights of 
the crowd much more than by the esthetic inspiration of the land- 
scape or the opportunity for quiet communion with nature. It may 
be fair, however, to assume that the Forests, with their concomitant 
lakes, streams, and mountains, should be offered primarily to 
persons who delight in the works of nature and in the beauties of 
the landscape, and that such persons should be protected against 
the crowding of others whose primary desire is to be in company. 

Let us say, therefore, that i acre should be recognized as the 
standard size for camp-permit lots; that lots down to one-half 
acre, or even somewhat smaller, may be laid out where a special 
demand exists and where such lots will be open on at least one 
side, the opening being toward some lake, stream, or unoccupied 
land (frontage on street not counted) ; but that under no circum- 
stances whatever should more than four houses be permitted on 
any one acre. These standards are not to be slavishly followed, 
but are to be regarded generally as minima. 

It may be proper to suggest here that, in general, it would seem 
wise to proceed with some deliberation in the development of these 
areas, not assuming that every applicant for a permit must be 
accommodated forthwith. There are ample areas for camping on 
National Forests whenever they can be made accessible by trail, 
automobile road, stage, or railroad, and these transportation 
facilities will be gradually extended in time. Instead of over- 



12 Landscape Engineering 

crowding areas now available it would seem better policy to seek 

to open new areas elsewhere. 

A considerable proportion of the areas to be used for camps lies 

in strips along streams or lake shores. The sub- 
General ,...,, ., . , 

division plan then necessarily presents a smgle row 

of lots. These may join one another, or there may 
be more or less frequent and tnore or less irregular open spaces be- 
tween them. Such occasional breaks in the lot series are usually 
desirable as providing public rights of way between the stream 
and the back country. 

Such rows of lots are rarely laid to a straight line, and probably 
should never be so surveyed. Where conditions permit, the align- 
ment will usually be parallel with the stream or lake shore. In rare 
instances the lot may extend quite to the shore; in most circum- 
stances it will be better to retain the shore for a distance of from 
50 to 500 feet back for public use. The shores are thus reserved to 
the full control of the Forest Service, a matter of some consequence 
at times. 

In rough topography the position of lots is sometimes determined 
more by the character of the slope than by the shore line. Thus, 
there may be comparatively level benches at a little distance back, 
and the superiority of these as building sites should be recognized 
by conforming the lots to the position of the camp houses. Always 
in the work of lot subdivision special care should be exercised to 
make sure that each lot includes a practicable building site. It is 
often worth while to indicate these sites on the layout maps. 

A public service road or trail is usually necessary with such a 
linear lot subdivision. This road should, whenever possible, 
run at the rear of the lots. 



in the National Forests 



13 




. SCALE in FEET 

£00 4iJ0 eOO 6Q0 lOOO 



Fig. r.— White Mountain National Forest. Dolly Copp Farm subdivision. 



14 Landscape Engineering 

Where larger tracts of lard have to be subdivided into build- 
ing lots there is always a strong tendency to follow 

the "checkerboard system" — that is, to make a 
Layouts 

rectangular plan. For the purposes in view on 

the recreation areas of the National Forests this is precisely the 

worst arrangement that can be made. First of all, it tends 

toward crowding, which is one of the things to be carefully avoided. 

What is more, the straight lines are stiff and unnatural, whereas 

we most of all wish to make these camp sites free, easy, natural, 

wild. The square layout is city-like, and we are trying to get 

away from the city. 

Yet an irregular, naturalistic, informal layout is in practice 
exceedingly hard to seciure. Simply to make a line crooked 
instead of straight does not make it natural. An irregular, 
layout, when unskillfully made, is about as ugly an affair as one 
could invent. It is certainly worse than a plain, honest checker- 
board. 

Some skill, some training, some artistic ability is required to 
get the best results in this field, but the following suggestions 
may make it possible to deal effectively with the usual Forest 
Service cases. The work should generally be developed through 
four successive stages; reconnaissance, survey, design, and layout. 

I. Reconnaissance. — ^The ground should be examined with 
reference to its general adaptability to the purposes in view. 
The conditions of accessibility, topography, water supply, drain- 
age, timber cover, altitude, and scenery will determine whether 
this tract or some other will best meet the requirements. This 



in the National Forests 13 

preliminary inspection, moreover, will usually decide the loca- 
tion of main roads and other features. 

2. Survey. — In all cases a topographic survey should be made. 
This should have somewhat the character of the more detailed 
land-classification surveys, but should be still more intensive. 
In general, the survey should record all topographic features, 
as springs, water courses, timber, brush, etc. Contours should 
be run at lo-foot intervals; or, in cases where careful work is 
desired, at 5-foot intervals. 

These surveys should nearly always be mapped at a scale of 
100 feet to the inch, or sometimes at 50 feet to the inch. The 
engineers' (decimal) scales should always be preferred for this 
work to the surveyors' scales in general use in the Forest Service. 

The work of these surveys may be done with the special Abney, 
or with compass and hand level, though of course a tiansit will 
give much better results where it can be had. A plane table, 
properly used, is the best instrument of all. 

It needs to be said here that the instruments and methods in 
general use in the Forest Service are not well suited to the work 
under discussion. In general, however, it will be necessary 
for the man on the ground to make the best use he can of the 
facilities at his command. 

3. Design. — After the survey has been mapped on a conven- 
iently large scale, the plan for the future layout should be care- 
fully studied on this map. This study will proceed most smoothly 
if it follows a regular course. First, the important points should 
be located, such as entrance, features like ranger station, post 



16 Landscape Engineering 

office, store, hotel, or boat landing. Second, the principal roads 
connecting these points should be designed. Third, the second- 
ary roads or trails should be determined. Last of all should 
follow the subdivision into lots. (When such areas develop 
without design the lots are often located first and the other steps 
taken backward.) 

Probably the most critical step in this design is the location 
of the roads or main trails. The best way to secure satisfactory 
results is to follow the natural topography. The main roads 
will rise along watercourses and will cross over saddles. Where 
there is a steep slope they will follow the contours, rising or falling 
with varying grade within the grade limit (preferably a limit of 6 
per cent) . If skill and a good eye are combined on this problem 
the resulting road will fit naturally to the land, it will not appear 
stiff, forced, or artificial, and it will seldom be straight. Neither 
will it be offensively crooked, but rather gracefully modulated 
to the topography. 

The width and character of the streets to be laid out along 
these lines will vary so greatly that no rules can be given. Stiff 
and formal city- wise treatment is to be avoided, however, and 
the wild forest character is to be preserved as far as possible. 

In cutting up the remaining space into individual lots, con- 
siderable variety should be sought. Tots should be of varying 
sizes, shapes, and frontage, and should present different kinds of 
outlook and cover. Some campers want to live in the sun ; others 
insist on keeping close under the trees. It is not obligatory in 
most cases that every inch of land be used. Open spaces between 
lots are sometimes desirable. 



in the National Forests 17 

In some of the larger enterprises now developing it is necessary 
to plan for important public reservations, such as public landing 
places on lake fronts, civic centers in village communities, public 
playgrounds, and almost always public camp grounds. These 
utilities are important, and there is danger of their being over- 
looked by the man who is not familiar with landscape engineering. 
But once their need is recognized, their disposition in the plan can 
best be left to the practical judgment of the man on the job. 

4. Layout. — After the design has been carefully studied on paper, 
checked and criticized by as many persons as possible, this plan 
should be taken back to the tract and laid out on the ground. 
Unless the preliminary surveys have been very exhaustive it will 
be found that many trifling modifications of detail will be advis- 
able. Slight shifts of roadways and small changes in lot lines 
can be made to advantage. However, if serious alterations 
appear to be needed, this condition will indicate a defective 
surv^ey, or an insufficient design, or both, and the only safe method 
will be to go back to the beginning and check the work over from 
the first. 

One particular condition recurs so frequently in this field that 

it mav fairlv be treated as a distinct tvpe and 

The Lake ' 

^ ,, called the "lake problem." When a summer 

Problem 

camp begins to form about a lake it nearly always 

grows as a marginal ring. If the demand for camps continues 

after the first ring is completed, another ring is formed, until 

finally there may be several concentric rings closely resembling 

the growth rings on top of a sawed stump. 

49628°— 18 3 



18 



Landscape Engineering 



The result of such growth undirected is to place the roads or 
other trafific wavs upon these concentric lines. Yet the move- 
ment of traffic (that is, of persons) is mainly radial, to and from 




Fig. 2. — Summer camp colony — Informal layout. 



the lake. It is plain, therefore, that the designer who is able to 
attack the "lake problem" in advance of settlement will, if possi- 
ble, place his main roadways in radial directions. This is nearly 



in the National Forests 



always difficult, especially where the slopes are steep, but it is 
seldom impossible or impracticable. If the slope is too great to 
permit straight direct radial traffic lines, these paths may be bent 
and canied out along grades of 6 or lo per cent. They will thus 
form volutes rather than radii, but the practical result is the same, 
while the cur\^ed lines will be more agreeable to the eye and even 
to the feet than though these paths stuck out like the spokes of a 
wheel. 

It will be desirable further in all such layouts to break up the 
rigidity of the concentric rings of lots as much as possible. This 
can be accomplished by introducing lots of varying size and form. 

EverN^ competent landscape engineer has in his equipment 
a whole " box of tricks " for breaking up the stiffness of a geometri- 
cal layout and of increasing the irregularities and informalities of 
his design. Of course it is necessary, to make this procedure 
successful, that the designer shall have a good eye for topography 
and that he shall form his irregularities of plan upon the natural 
lav of the land. Othenvise it is worse than any possible geo- 
metrical plan. The forest ranger can not fairly be asked to know 
these refinements of the landscape designer's art, but he may 
have the good eye for topography, and if he will give serious 
study to any particular piece of land he should be able to achieve 
a layout which will look more like a wild native tract of "mountain- 
side and less like a checkerboard. 

Forest supervisors should be careful to anticipate the public 
demand in all summer-home colonies. It is much easier to secure a 
good layout and a convenient administration if the Forest Service 
can take the problem in hand before numerous permittees or 



20 



Landscape Engineering 



squatters are already established. It is better administration to 
have three or four tracts surve3'ed and designed \vith no demand 



o so lo o 150 aoo zio 



J^.^re .// 




Fig. 3. — Summer-camp colony — "Checkerboard" layout. 

for leases than to have one colony established in helter-skelter 
fashion before the Forest Service gets started with its plans. 



in the National Forests 21 

There is always danger, too, that such a colony, once estab- 
lished, will be quite too seriously accepted by local officers. It is 
nearly always possible and altogether best to deal radically with 
such mistaken developments. There will be some immediate 
ruptures, and some temporary' inconvenience, but in the long 
future evers'body will be glad that some one had the courage to 
make a new and better beginning. 



/ 



22 Landscape Engineering 



Trail Location with Reference to 

the Development of Scenery 



IN THE National Forests are thousands of miles of trails. 
Many of these run through picturesque canyons, along beauti- 
ful streams, over glorious mountain ranges, or through noble 
forests. On many of them the traveler meets the most delightful 
scenery. To this scenery the forest supervisors and. rangers 
have always been responsive. Some of the existing trails have 
been located frankly with the intent of reaching good landscape 
features. 

Since the problem of locating trails (or roads) with reference 
to the development of landscape is, however, a fundamental 
problem in landscape engineering, and inasmuch as the landscape 
engineer has worked out certain technical methods for the 
solution of such problems, it will be worth while to consider the 
whole matter from this point of view. 

It must be expected that in the majority of cases the location 
of Forest Service trails will still be ruled by administrative 
expediency. They will be built where they are needed for 
practical utility, directed by the shortest practical routes, laid 
upon the easiest effective grades, and with due consideration for 
cheapness of construction. The main object of a trail \vill still 
be to get there. Yet it will ])e possible, in many cases, without 



in the National Forests 23 



loss of administrative efficiency, to get more effective views of 
the landscape along the way; and anyone who knows the forest 
officer on his own territory and appreciates his love for the 
outdoor world, will readily expect him to make the most of the 
landscape in \vhich he lives. 

Moreover a certain number of trails will be built where landscape 
development is the paramount object in view\ In such cases, 
the methods of the landscape engineer may fairly be given 
precedence. 

Somewhat roughly stated, the method used by the landscape 

engineer in the location of roads, trails, or paths 
General • r n ^ta, . • 

Method ^^ ^^ lollows: The prmcipal pomts of interest 

(such as outside views, vistas up or down a stream, 
waterfalls, particularly good trees, etc.) are sought out first of 
all. The route is then laid in such a manner as to connect these 
points, having due regard to grade and to other practical con- 
siderations. 

It is distinctly desirable, furthermore, that these best views 
should appear at definite points along the road or trail, namely, 
at the point where the trail makes a major change of direction 
and of grade. The principle may be best stated by saying that 
the entire trail will be divided into sections or paragraphs. In 
each paragraph there will appear some important object of 
interest or outside view. This will come at the end of the section 
or paragraph; and the culminating point of our transition to a 
new paragraph Avill be marked by a comparatively abrupt change 
of direction and change of grade. (The former is more important 
than the latter.) 



24 



Landscape Engineering 



It is plainly desirable, further, to have the principal view appear 
directly in front of the traveler at the paragraphic turn, as 
indicated in the sketch (fig. 4). 

Some trails are used mainly by travel in one direction only. 
On them the outlooks and inlooks may be studied in this one 
direction. But the majority of trails are used equally coming 




Fig. 4. — The development of trail views at paragraphic points. 

and going. On these it is obviously necessary to study the 
views from both directions. As a rule, any particular view will 
be visible from one paragraphic point going out and (if shown at 
all) from another coming back. 

As a rule, more time is taken on a trail going up ; also the near-by 
views are nearly always better viewed on an upgrade, while 
distant outlooks show to best advantage from the top of a grade, 



in the National Forests 25 

where the traveler starts to go down. For these reasons the view^s 
should be studied with particular care on the upward direction of 
the trail, and such objects as are to be viewed closely will be 
especially referred to the upward ends of paragraphs. 

At these paragraphic points certain things may be done to 
improve or emphasize the view or to call attention to it. Some 
of the commonest expedients are as follows : (a) To cut out the trees 
so as to leave a convenient opening toward the desired view, in 
which case the remaining trees should serve as a frame for the 
picture beyond; (b) to provide a widening in the road where 
wagons, automobiles, or trail stock may stop to rest, or to pass;' 
(c) to place seats, especially along foot trails, where pedestrians 
may sit facing the best outlook; or even (d) to place finger boards 
pointing to the view. Such signs should usually be lettered with 
the name of the object pointed out, as "Peaks of Otter," 'Ama- 
noosuc River," "Mozart Falls." 

One further principle will appear theoretically sound, viz, that 
the sucessive views in a series of paragraphs should bear a logical 
relation to one another, both as regards their subject matter and 
their order. 

As nearly as possible one connected series of views should deal 
with one subject, theme, or motive, and one only. If one view 
shows a mountain peak, the next a waterfall, the third a stretch 
of open park, the fourth a mass of heavy timber, the fifth a dell 
of ferns, the sixth a lake, the seventh a ranch house, then the 
whole series is confusing and meaningless. It will be very much 
more edifying if the entire seven views in the series can show 
different aspects of the mountain range across the vallev, or 



26 Landscape Engineering 

different views of the river along which the trail is climbing. 
Unity of theme or motive is the first and most fmidamental 
principle in all art. 

But the views in such a series should also have some logical 
order. Certainly the best view should not come first. Perhaps 
it should not be quite the last, but it should be near the end. 
Roughly we may say that it is good management to present 
glimpses or partial views first, these to be synthesized later in the 
larger general view. 

All this may sound somewhat highbrow, but anyone who 
notices scenery at all will enjoy the landscape better if it is 
effectively presented from the most favorable points in a logical 
series of progressive views all bearing consistently on one theme. 

Such studies as these are, of coiu-se, somewhat difficult, and 
different degrees of artistic success may be expected in different 
cases and with different workers. The skill which grows from 
long theoretical training and the discipline of experience should 
certainly enable a man to do a much better piece of work than 
could be done by the novice. Xo doubt the forest ranger, pre- 
occupied with timber cruising, grazing permits, or the location of 
fire guards, will excuse himself from any very intensive study 
of advanced art principles or of their application to Forest trail 
building. Nevertheless, most forest officers are good students 
and will welcome the opportunity to bring their trail-location 
work into line with these few fundamental principles. 

At any rate there appears to be nothing unintelligible or 
impracticable in the following list of points summarized from the 
foregoing. 



in the National Forests 27 



I . For the purposes of landscape engineering each 
Summary trail or road should be divided into sections or 

paragraphs. 

2. Each one of these paragraphs should present one object of 
interest or one important view, these objects and views having 
been selected in advance of the trail study. 

3. As far as possible the views in any series of connected para- 
graphs should deal with one subject, theme, or motive. When 
the time comes for changing to another motive the former one 
should be wholly dropped and undivided attention given to the 
new theme until it in turn is exhausted. Mixing themes is the 
worst possible design. 

4. Each view or landscape picture should usually appear at the 
end of the paragraph, which should be at the point where the 
trail makes its principal change of direction. If a change of 
grade is to be made it, too, should come at this paragraphic 
point. 

5. These best points of view should be emphasized by appro- 
priate means, such as cutting out trees, widening the trail, plac- 
ing seats, or setting up finger boards. 

6. The successive views dealing with any one theme should be 
presented in a progressive or climactic order. 



28 Landscape Engineering 



Ranger Stations 



THE location of ranger stations on the Forests will be deter- 
mined in most cases by purely practical considerations. 
Administrative convenience is natm-ally to receive first attention, 
and questions of this character can be settled to best advantage 
by the man on the ground. 

Purely esthetic considerations, however, nearly always have 
some weight. Every ranger desires a ranger station which has 
a tidy appearance and a good outlook. Many bright examples 
could be found on the Forest areas of most attractive ranger 
stations effectively located with reference to some specialh' fine 
view and set off by neat, Avell-kept grounds; On the other hand 
it must be admitted that some mistakes have been made. Here 
and there are stations quite injudiciously located, or station 
grounds showing distinct evidences of poor taste and bad man- 
agement. 

Any discussion of this matter should take into consideration the 
fact that the ranger station is more than an official convenience of 
the United States Government — it is the forest ranger's home. 
It is entitled to the treatment which any other good citizen of the 
republic would give his home. It should have the benefit of the 
ranger's personal interest and the interest of his wife and family. 



in the National Forests 29 



It should be to a considerable extent the expression of the family 
instinct for home and of the family taste. 

Leaving reasonable latitude for these personal tastes, we need 
not expect to build all ranger stations on a single formula, no 
matter how good. Only certain broad principles may be sug- 
gested to which the house and grounds may conform with advan- 
tage to all parties. 

Furthermore, if the forest ranger is to be treated like a human 
being, entitled to a home like other men, he should have a reason- 
able amount of time when his day's work is over when he will be 
free to nurse his chickens, keep his garden, mow his lawn, prune 
his trees, and otherwise develop his grounds in line with his tastes 
and with the mild suggestions hereinafter offered. The building 
of a ranger station or the construction of a fence may become the 
official duty of any forest officer, and may be done on official time, 
but the making of a home is mainly a human and unofficial enter- 
prise and belongs to a man's hours of leisure. If, as is sometimes 
alleged, the forest ranger has no time for such things, then that 
condition requires the attention of some one besides the landscape 
engineer. 

It is an obligation which the Government owes its employees, 
living as they often do under conditions of isolation and remote- 
ness from community advantages, to see that they are decently 
housed and able to enjoy the things which make for a normal 
life. Many of the ranger headquarters are still log cabins, and 
the ranger's family is subject to the inevitable privations which 
confront the pioneer. The ranger himself has many and exacting 
duties. He must be away from home much of the time. Often 



30 Landscape Engineering 

he is away for long periods As economic development of the 
country in his neighborhood goes on his life will grow easier. The 
suggestions here made are offered as an attempt to set up a goal 
toward which to work as rapidly as practicable. It is felt that the 
ranger stations, which are the homes of these public officers and 
their families, should be made outposts of civilization rather than 
lagging sur\avals of the cramped and primitive conditions imposed 
by the wilderness. 

Laying aside all questions of practical administration, and 
discussing this matter solely from the stand- 
point of making the surroundings more attractive, 
it should be clear that the ranger station should be located 
neither on the top of a hill nor in the bottom of a valley. In 
short, it will be placed somewhere on a sidehill unless the loca- 
tion comes in a strictly level district. 

A southern exposure will usually be most desirable, though 
southeast or southwest may be preferable in particular cases. 
A northern slope is about the only one which will never be used. 

When placed on a sidehill the ranger station should be set high 
enough to secure drainage and outlook, but not so high as to 
suffer from winds or be difficult of access. The location will be 
influenced so much by the availability of springs and similar 
practical necessities that any considerations of esthetic theory 
are likely to cut a very small figure. 

It should further be clear that a situation in which the ranger 
station is seen against a background of trees is more desirable 
than one in which the forest intercepts the inlook and outlook 
from the front of the station. 



in the National Forests 3 1 

In man}' parts of the country it is found desirable to fence in 
the grounds immediatel}^ about the ranger station. Such inclosed 
space will usually amount to about i acre. For this purpose a 
strong rustic wood fence is to be preferred. This may be of peeled 
posts and poles, or of rived pickets, or any other similar local 
material. Where sawed lumber is readily available it may be 
best to use sawed posts with boards. Barbed-wire fences are to be 
especially avoided for the yard inclosure. Any untidy, rickety 
construction is also obviously out of place here. 

One or two gates are always necessary in such a fence. The 
gate offers a special opportunity for the display of good taste — 
or bad. It should have some interesting ornamental touch. 
It should not be slouchy or decrepit or unable to move on its 
hinges. Neither should it be fanciful nor grotesque with labored 
' ' ornamentation . " 

The native forest unquestionabl}^ supplies the most appro- 

.^, priate and attractive background for any ranger 

Plantings . ^, . . , 

station. The origmal tree growth will be better 

than any planting of supposedly ornamental species. Two or 

three large trees within the yard or inclosure will be desirable in 

practically all cases. If the main trees can be placed to the 

south and southwest of the house so that their shadows help to 

break up the architectural lines during the day, so much the 

better. In all cases where trees are to be planted, select hardy 

native local species. Foreign, strange, or curious specimens 

should be let severely alone. 

About the foundations of the buildings plantings of shrubbery 

will often prove most attractive. These should also be of native 



32 Landscape Engineering 

species. There is not a locality anywhere in any Forest where 
difficulty need be experienced in collecting a considerable list of 
ornamental shrubs. Such things as dogwood, barberry, nine- 
bark, hawthorn, plum, viburnum, elder, sumach, etc., are all but 
universal, and where these fail there are plenty of good kinds to 
take their places. 

Much needless disappointirtent is experienced in handling this 
native shrubbery through improper methods in transplanting. A 
ranger sees some pretty shrub in full midsummer bloom along the 
stream, takes a fancy to it, digs it up with his sheath-knife (losing 
most of the roots in the operation), brings it home — a three 
days' ride — in his saddlebags, by which time it is thoroughly 
dried out, and plants it in a dry sunny spot beside the flag pole. 
The thing dies, of course, and the ranger decides to confine 
himself in the future to counting sheep. 

What he should do in such a case is to mark the shrub whose 
blossoms have awakened his admiration and make a note of the 
location in his notebook. Then, in late fall or early spring, when 
the plant is perfectly dormant, he should return to the place 
prepared to dig out the roots. Often the plant can be divided 
into several smaller units at this operation. These smaller 
plants should be taken home and planted, never in the yard, 
but always in the garden nursery. That is, they should be 
placed in good, rich, friable, well-cultivated soil, where they can 
receive the same care as com or potatoes for one or two years. 
In that time and in that soil they will develop large masses of 
fibrous roots, so that at transplanting time they can be suc- 
cessfully removed to their permanent positions in the front yard 
or ornamental garden. 



in the National Forests 



33 



Fruit Trees 



Veg'etablQ 
Qarden 




U'iia I \llU/flflfliUi/////f/A I VfT IZZ 



• Stal?le 
_L or 

\^Qara<^e \ 

! • . 



/?^^V?: 




^^^^^^ Floi^er Garden 1 



Ct.j:. 



-Cc 






-tp^ 



n) 



^(j\:x5i 




LaK/n 



20 40 60 ft 



y-.tVi. .|i^'7l<»rwi/;7ij:. .j / 






/r 







Public Hoad 

Fig. 5. — Suggestive plan for ranger station grounds. 



34 Landscape Engineering 



In these permanent positioxis a better effect is usually obtained 
by massing or grouping shrubs than by planting them singly as 
specimens. In planting these shrubbery masses, as for e^tample 
about the house foundations, it is good practice to set the young 
plants rather close together, say i8 to 24 inches apart. About 
two or three times as many should be planted as can eventually 
occupy the space. Later, as they begin to crowd, they can be 
thinned out. This thick planting protects the young plants and 
gives much better results. 

If the occupants of the ranger station have some taste for 
gardening it will be better, wherever practicable, to make a 
vegetable garden at the back of the house or a flower garden at 
the side of the house, or both, rather than to attempt to grow 
flowers and slu-ubs in the front yard. In every region there are 
dozens of species of hardy herbaceous flowering plants which can 
be easily domesticated in a cultivated flower garden if sympa- 
thetically handled. Moreover, there is not the slightest objection 
to growing in such a garden the old-fashioned favorites common 
to all circles of civilization, such as peonies, hollyhocks, tiger lilies, 
bleeding hearts, tulips, iris, poppies, larkspurs, phlox, etc. The 
point is that they will thrive much better and at the same time 
will look better hi a cultivated garden than in a semicultivated 
front yard. It will be better to keep the front areas for open 
lawn. 

For this purpose it is desirable that the land should be graded 
and smoothed, and, wherever it is possible with or without 
irrigation to grow good lawn grass, a certain area of this front yard 
should be well kept through frequent applications of the lawn 



in the National Forests 35 



mower. In a good many places where the lawn-mower treatment 

does not fit, the yard can still be mowed with a scythe from time 

to time with excellent effect. 

The grounds about any dwelling house can nearly always 

be made more inviting by tasteful and useful 
Furnishmgs . ■ « -' 

furmshmgs. Comfortable outdoor seats are first 

to be considered, and with them an outdoor table will often 

prove a convenience. In most localities it is practicable to take 

meals, suppers especially, out of doors during certain parts of the 

year. It is a habit worthy of cultivation. 

Such use of chairs and tables may raise a demand for shelter, 
and this demand can be met by the construction of some sort of 
summer house or arbor. Garden furnishings of such a character 
will be placed at one side or at the rear of the main house, never 
in front. 

It is now coming to be the fashion on many of the better private 
grounds throughout the country to establish a camp fire as a regular 
item of garden equipment. This usually consists of a flat stone- 
paved space on which the camp fire can be built, surrounded by a 
few rustic wooden or stone seats. Such a camp fire is delightful 
during the evenings of summer and autumn. Here family parties 
often cook and eat their suppers. Perhaps for the forest ranger 
the camp-fire supper will not be such a novelty ; but the appro- 
priateness of the. camp fire as one of the outdoor furnishings at a 
ranger station should be obvious. 

Bird houses at suitable points about the grounds will always 
prove interesting and may become, the means of endless delight 
to the human inhabitants of the ranger station. 



36 



Landscape Engineering 



In like manner fish pools can sometimes be constructed and 
maintained with considerable satisfaction. 






Vorch 

6"a/0'6" 



»t IT" 



Vresder 



^Kitch 



D 



en 

Q'6" If6- 



I I XL 



D 



\j dedrooTTZ 



u 

y 



IJ'6"x If 6" 



Lii/in^ 2oom 

2^' 0'' X /J' 



P c: 



D 



TD 



UorQf 



Off ICG I 
<5> 9'6" 



I I E 



I I r 



PorcA 



J4'A C 



^4' 



Fig. 6.— Model ranger station — Plan. 

The sketch plan accompanying this discussion (fig. 5) will 
give a fair idea of how these arrangements will w^ork out into an 
orderly design. Such a plan, of course, will be varied to suit the 
circumstances. 



in the National Forests 



37 



What has been said about the ranger station grounds appHes 

in general terms to the station buildings. In 

some districts it has been felt that a more careful 
Buildings 



The Station 



study would lead to the building of more attrac- 
tive and more convenient houses and offices. vSpecial discussion 
has been given to this matter in District 3, where the feeling has 




Fig. 7.— Model ranger station— Front elevation. 

been strong that standardized plans and specifications might be 
useful. Mr. Aldo Leopold, until recently a forest examiner in 
this district, who has given special study to these questions, has 
prepared plans for such use, one of which (fig. 6), as a general 
suggestion, is shown herewith. 



38 



Landscape Engineering 



In the judgment of the writer (and this probably expresses 
Mr. Leopold's view also) any strictly standardized plans, either for 
station buildings or grounds, are hardly feasible, owing to the great 
variation in the circumstances under which ranger stations must 



\i— n. 



nn 



Fig. 8. — Model ranger station — vSidc elevation. 



F^ 



II II II II 



be built. It is clear enough, however, that much more careful 
study than in the past should be given to these matters. Sugges- 
tive or model plans, not to be slavishly followed, may be distinctly 
useful. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 417 081 



